A work from home policy is one way to expand BPO operations, and with the BPO sector set to benefit from the increasing focus of organisations that want to improve business agility; President of the Global Services Association of Jamaica, (GCAJ) wants to increase the workforce from 45 thousand employees to 50 thousand early next year.

She cites working from home as the reason for the survival of the BPO sector which is why she wants to see the policy made permanent.

President of the GSAJ, Gloria Henry is calling on the Government to make the work from home policy permanent in the BPO sector. She says the sector was able to adapt and grow during the COVID-19 pandemic since employees were able to continue to support business operations safely from their homes. For this reason, she says remote working is the way forward.

She was speaking at a President’s forum to discuss COVID-19 resilience at the AC Hotel in Kingston on Wednesday, November 10. Chairman of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica, (FCJ) Lyttleton Shirley supports the proposal for the expansion of the BPO industry at the most basic level, but should consideration should be made for employee’s access to internet.

Henry is also urging the Ministry of Health and Wellness to discontinue the mandatory daily reporting for COVID-19 cases. This as she says the sector has proven its resilience against the virus with an infection rate of under 1 percent. Henry projects that the BPO sector will rake in over 4 billion dollars between 2021 and 2028.

More in this CVM Live story from Jhanielle Powell: